5/28/22, New Member, Feeding

[Ann & Sister]

5/28/21: Sister, 14, was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. For a few years she drank and peed excessively but tests did not show she had diabetes. I started working on her weight 2 months ago and got her from 16lbs down to 14lbs. When Sister started walking like a bear and seemed to lose strength in her back legs, I took her back to the vet. I'm upset because I do not know how long Sister has had untreated diabetes.
I have Lantus now. She will get one unit twice a day. Vet wants her to eat wet food, 7% carbs, which I have not found yet. I picked up several DM prescription canned foods to try, but she is a dry food junky so this will be tough.
My question is about how to feed. When I had a diabetic cat in 2018, the same vet said to give food at the same times twice a day, 12 hrs apart and no food in between meals. Worked great; that cat went into remission within 6 weeks. Today, the vet said that Sister can feed freely so long as it is low carb wet food. I know she has to have the injection with food so what if she eats a lot at 3 p.m. and then is not hungry at 6 when it is time for the injection? I find this confusing. I also read on this site that you should get the low carb transition going first before you even start the injections. My vet didn't say anything about that. I fed her new wet food and allowed her to have a little weight control dry and gave her her first injection this evening. Do you think this is okay?

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Your current vet is right on feeding freely if that's how she likes to eat. Many of us just do several small meals instead. You can limit how much food she gets in the last half of the cycle (time between shots), so she's hungrier at shot time. Were you giving Lantus for the previous diabetic cat? Food recommendations may differ for different insulins.

If you are going to switch to lower carb food, you should be home testing blood sugars first. Changing to low carb can make a drastic change in insulin needs.

 

[Ann & Sister]

Your current vet is right on feeding freely if that's how she likes to eat. Many of us just do several small meals instead. You can limit how much food she gets in the last half of the cycle (time between shots), so she's hungrier at shot time. Were you giving Lantus for the previous diabetic cat? Food recommendations may differ for different insulins.

If you are going to switch to lower carb food, you should be home testing blood sugars first. Changing to low carb can make a drastic change in insulin needs.

Yes, my previous cat was also on Lantus so that is why I am confused about the feeding protocol. My cats have always had some food around during the day to nibble if they wanted to. It's only when I wanted Sister to lose some weight that I removed the food during the day until a cat asked me for some and then I put it out 10 minutes and had to monitor. That might be an issue with free feeding wet food as well. Unless I watch all 5 cats, I will not know if Sister eats the prescription wet food or someone else does.
My vet has not mentioned anything about testing Sister myself. She wants me to bring her into the office once a week to have her blood checked to see where she is. I am retired. I am fine with this.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

No need for Sister to eat prescription food, any low carb food would do.

Vet's make more money when you take them into the office for testing. The problem is that cats often get stressed and test higher at the vets, and the vet changes the dose based on an artificially higher number. Only by testing at home can you keep your cat safe. And you'll save money doing the testing yourself.

 

[Ann & Sister]

No need for Sister to eat prescription food, any low carb food would do.

Vet's make more money when you take them into the office for testing. The problem is that cats often get stressed and test higher at the vets, and the vet changes the dose based on an artificially higher number. Only by testing at home can you keep your cat safe. And you'll save money doing the testing yourself.

Thanks for the advice.